My sweet, sweet Sam.... you are missed. We are praying for you and for the Perry's. It is such fun to watch the blog and see pictures of you. I put this video up just for you. I thought maybe you would enjoy hearing your little sister's sweet voice and see her tell a story. I think that if you were here, she would have patted the seat beside her and asked you if you wanted to hear a story. When Daddy got home from work, she asked him if he wanted to hear a story. She sat down on the couch, patted the seat beside her and told him to sit down. She then proceeded to tell him the story of the Three Little Pigs. She was so excited with her story that she called for Emily, Jacob and Erin, asked them if they wanted to hear a story, patted the seat beside her for them to sit down and then began her story. It was adorable! She patiently waited until I got the video camera so that I could capture her performance. Too cute! I realize that many of you haven't quite learned "Elizabethian" language yet. So, there is a little interpretation of her story underneath the video. Enjoy!



The three little piggies….and and and the bad wolf tried to blow the house down . And and and he went the first house. (nodding her head yes) the first house. And the big bad wolf tried to chase him and eat him. And he went his brothers house ….. Cause he blow the house down. And a huff and a huff and blow the house down. (then showing the kids how he blew) he did that. (Emily says wow). Blow the house down. (Emily asks what happened next) he ran and ran and he try chase him. And he went brothers house. And them ran away and them try get Jesus. And Jesus try to save him. (Emily asks if he saved them). Umm No (wrinkled up nose) But theres not Jesus, but hims upside. And 3 little piggies tried to ran. And blow the house down and there’s flowers on the house. But NOW there’s no flowers on the house. And the big bad wolf tried to blow the flowers off. And he tried tried to blow the flower down. (Emily asks something) Yeah, blow the house down. Yeah, and he blow the flowers down. Yeah, he blew them down. And and he blow a house down. And and he run away. The End.

Jacob took both of these pictures for me. He was playing with the kids. When they both put sunglasses on, he thought it was so cute that he grabbed the camera and started shooting. I thought he captured a couple of really good ones!



Elizabeth and I went to Bowling Green to pick Erin up from camp. When Ri is not around, she is ALL charm. She was being so sweet. I loved this picture.


Sherri posted these pictures of Sam on her blog. I grabbed them. I guess the boys are eating Kebabs. They are very similar to gyros.

Wow - if Sam can do his laundry this way, I guess I can expect that when he gets back, he will be perfectly happy to help me with his laundry!



Erin went to an elite soccer camp through Midwest Soccer Academy. It was her first residential camp. She has dreamed of attending a good camp for a very long time. Her goal was to go during the summer before her junior year. She saved all her money and paid for the camp herself. We were very proud of her! She enjoyed it because she finally got an idea at what level she can play. The coaching was excellent and she met some wonderful new friends. She was all smiles when I picked her up.

During the awards ceremony, she recieved to great honors. First, 4 kids were awarded champions of the 4V4 games. She was one of them. Then, the highest honor a child can recieve at camp is the award for the soccer player with the most promise. She recieved it for her age group. It was thrilling to hear. The coach she had was very excited about her abilities and talked to her a great deal about her future goals.

On another note, I am missing my son, but am very confident that he is enjoying every minute of his time in Poland. Please pray for them this week as they are helping with a VBS.

Here are some pictures of Sam that have been posted on our friends website.

Evidently, he is in a frieght elevator. He looks quite happy, doesn't he?
Jim and Sam attempted to cook chicken on the grill. The coals just didn't get hot enough, so they resorted to frying it in a pan. Love to see his cullinary skills :)

Having pizza with his new friends.

She is such a ham at times...... ... and quickly turns to serious or thoughful.....
... and then there is my silly boy, who loves doing anything that makes me smile.
well.. maybe not anything. Here he is mad at me. At this point, I did not give him his turn because he refused to go get the ball. There were playing "tennis". It was his turn to go get the ball. Since he refused, he missed his turn. As a result, he fell flat on the ground and laid there, still as could be. I told him that he needed to get the ball. He realized that I wasn't going to respond to his laying, so he kicked his shoes off. I still didn't respond, so he took each sock and threw them. I just cracked up. His little "temper tamtrums" don't really last long. But seeing him fall on the ground flat on his back is quite comical.

Ri loves swinging ... anything in his hands!

Doesn't this make a very nice seat?

I couldn't resist this one, he has such a sweet face!

Elizabeth's facial expressions are often so gentle and serious.

He's off again! This time, my little HOBO is on a mission with his precious balls (some of his favorite toys)

I can't remember if I posted anything about the blog that our friends are psoting to, but if you are intersted in seeing some of Sam's adventures in Poland, the blog site is: www.friendsofradom.blogspot.com

I shot these pictures last night with the little ones. We havent been outside much lately due to the sickness that has been lingering around our home. I think it has gone through everyone except for Ri. Funny how are "sickest" member is really our healthiest :)

Speaking of that, I don't think that I shared the details of his last visit to the cardiologist. Last year, when we visited him, Ri cried so hard when I sat him on the table for his ultrasound that the nurse refused to even attempt one. She looked at me after 30 seconds and said that Ri was uncooperative and we couldn't do it. Needless to say, I was not impressed with this nurse! This year, Ri was absolutely a gem! So, with an actual US to read, the doctor was able to give us more information. He does have some pulmonary stenosis and a small VSD as well as a couple arteries that are too narrow and one that it too large. He looked at Ri and told me that there was no way he would do anything with a child that looked as good as he does. He just doens't want to mess with things. Unless he begins to experience several pneumonia / bronchitis bouts, then we are fine to kepe things as they are until his body gets much bigger. Ideally, he would like to wait to do anything until he is big enough to be able to place adult size stints (not sure how to spell those)in him. He will need them, but the doctor would rather wait so that he does not need multiple surgeries for it.

So, eventually he will need some more repair. Until then, his activity level is fine. He will probably become winded much quicker then most (he does), and he probably won't ever be a marathon runner (we knew that already - and face it, how many of us are?)... but he can still participate in everything anyone else can. We are praising God for our healthy little boy!

Our friends who went to Poland brought over some "gifts" for us to play with while they were away. This 4-wheeler brought a few sparkles to our kids eyes. They are enjoying having it for a month. Thanks Dave!






I dropped Erin off at her soccer camp yesterday. Please pray for the weather. It appears to be thunderstorms all week. That would not be the best weather for a soccer camp. I would hate for her to spend all her money on camp and then not get much out of it because of the weather. I spoke to her last night and she seemed pretty pumped after their first game sessions.

Sam is really doing well. He IM'd me this morning at 5:30. It was so wonderful to "talk" with him. He had a rough first few nights of sleep, but thanks to his new mom - he slept better last night. SHe was able to give him something to sleep. He says that he has done a TON of walking. He likes Poland. His biggest concerns were wanting to bring home something special for each of his siblings. It was so sweet. He has 3 1/2 more weeks, and he is already thinking of gifts for them. Dave wrote yesterday and filled me in a little more.

Here is his note:
We had a very full day today with church, a big pot luck (they call it an Agape dinner), a soccer game of our friend Simon, the semi-pro soccer player (he scored the first 2 goals), went out for genuine Italian pizza, and then walked to an outdoor live screening on a giant screen of the Euro-cup. Church was awesome and I asked Sam specifically about his impression of Poland so far. He said that the people at church are very happy, really happy. We discussed how this is so eventhough they, about 35 people, worship in a room, in an old industrial building, on the 4th floor (ride a frieght elevator to get there) and the room is smaller than most Sunday school rooms at Faith Baptist.

Here is the note from Sherri:
We have had a full day so far. Four hours at
church (two hours of service, and two hours of agape meal -- like potluck). Remember that when we go to church, it is a 30 minute walk one way. Thankfully, Sam, Luke & Levi got a ride back home! Now we are going to walk again .... to watch Szymon's soccer team play in a scrimmage. Then we are going out for pizza. Mmm... something
'American' for our stomachs. All of the walking is good for us -- builds strong legs and creates many opportunities to talk.

On the way back from church, Dave and Mikolaj helped a young man who was hungry and asking for money. They took him to a store and bought him food. They also witnessed to him.

Sam was brave and tried a lot of Polish food today at the potluck. He actually liked it, which is more than I can say for myself! Tomorrow, the teens here have invited the boys to play soccer. That should be a fun time.

Before today, I thought, 'This might be a LONG month!' But my heart was renewed at church when we talked with people. My heart remembered why we came here, and how wonderful the people are.

Marek (youth pastor) has a two-day trip planned for the youth next week. The boys will go too (along with Ben & Joe are). They will go to another city and spend time with another youth group.


BUT... this one is my favorite part of all.... :)
I asked him today if he misses his brothers & sisters, etc. He misses
his mom the most :-) Just thought you might want to know.

Please pray for this trip and this family. What a joy it is to read what they are doing.

I can't believe that they start so early in life. Start? Start what, you might ask! Well... start being a typical man. Well, I guess I might be stereotyping men. So, I am sorry for that. I am confident that there are men who really enjoy sharing details about their life. Maybe there are men who like taking the time to write and share things. Unfortunatley, it is my experience that most men are short and to the point. They are motivated to get to the point and do it quickly. Conversation is just not many men's strong point. So why, you might ask, that I say I can't believe that they start so early in life? Because Sam landed in Poland, in another country, thousands of miles from his mom. He flew overnight in a plane and experienced many things (I think) already today. And...though I really wasn't expecting to hear from my boy at all, he wrote the following note by email:
Hey mom this is sam. just checking in. how is it over there? Has Elizabeth gotten better? well e-mail soon!

lots of love
sam

It cracked me up! I am thankful for even that much, though! Just hearing from him made me light up. Then a an hour or so later, he IM'd me. That was pretty cool. We "chatted" for a minute or two. I really don't know what he has done or what he thinks of Poland, but I know that he slept 8 hours on the plane. And thus, he was not tired at 1:00am their time when he was sending me an instant message.

His new "mom" emailed us and shared that the place they are staying in is wonderful. She said that the whole trip time was 24 hours. They are glad to have arrived safely. Here is a portion of the note she sent us:

Our accommodations are excellent. We are on the 3rd floor of a newly
renovated building, which is being used as a Christian Center. It is
spacious and clean. It is right beside the bus line, grocery store,
Obi (Lowes type store), mini mall, a few restaurants, and the open
market. Dennis, this is an EXCELLENT place for future groups. Plenty
of bathrooms & accommodations. Currently, we are the only ones staying
in the building. Even if others were staying here, we would have
complete privacy. This internet access is available in our building.
Plus there is a water filter that treats the entire building's supply
of water. So we can drink freely!

Tomorrow we will rest, go to the grocery, get acclamated to the area,
visit with friends, and visit downtown Radom. We really could not ask
to be more centrally located, and the facilities here are better than
we've experienced on any other trip.

My precious Sam, if you are reading this, know that we love you and are praying for all of you. I think Jacob is missing you the most... or at least he is definitely anticipating missing you.

Last night, I got a message from our precious friends who are taking Sam to Poland. They were sitting on the plane getting ready to take off. So, this morning, around 4:00am, they should have landed. My son is now in another country wihtout us :(. But, I am very, very excited for him. Please keep them in prayer as they embark on the journey God has called them to.

I was awake when they landed, I had been for a good hour or so. I was praying for them. But it wasn't because of their flight that I was awake. Elizabeth has been sick for a few days. 2 days ago, she was running a fever of 101.5. I don't like fevers...at least not with her. Jacob always ran high fevers, even up to 105 and 106 without any major problems. When Sam hits that high, he haluciates big time. I don't like them with him. Emily and Erin rarely get that high and if they do, there isn't problems. Elizabeth? Well, she has feveral seizures. I HATE THEM!! SHe hasn't had one for over a year. I really had hoped she had outgrew them. But, no, I guess she hadn't, When she ahd the temp of 101.5, I gave her medicine. I was carrying her on my back in my ergo because she just wanted held. All of a sudden she felt very funny. I turned to try to look at her and she wasn't shaking and had her eyes open, but she wasn't responding to my questions. I quickly took her off, thinking she might be in a seizure. She was stiff and staring. She had a cup in her hand, I had to pry her fingers off it. I knew she was having a seizure, but it was different then the other 3 she has had. She laid in my arms staring and stiff as could be. Every muscle was tense and she didn't respond at all; just a blank stare. THat went on for 10 minutes. Then she started gagging as if she wasn't going to be able to get air. Since it had all been different, I picked up the phone and called 911 simply to talk through it and in case she stopped breathing. She proceeded to throw up profusely. I kept her on her side in my arms. The operator wanted to call a squad. I told her 3 times that I didn't think we needed one, but she felt better sending one. It took at least 10 minutes for hte squad to get here. When they got here, she wasn't moving much, but she was beginning to look around. She turned and stared at the paramedics and then back at me. The paramedics took her out of my arms so that I could get our dog inside. Elizabeth just looked at the paramedic and then at me....NEVER whimpering, crying, screaming...NOTHING! It was then that I knew for sure that she was not back with us yet. We sat in the squad for a few minutes before she started beginning to act like she might respond to things. Her Oxygen stats were a little low, but they felt it might be their equipment since it was an adult monitor. THey gave her oxygen anyways. We denied a trip to the hospital. WE had her checked out by our doctor just to make sure she didn't have pneumonia or something like that. He figured she just has a virus. Well, yesterday and last night, her fevers are spiking at 103. She hasn't siezured anymore, praise God!

So, that is why I was up. On another note, Emily is home from Florida. THat is a whole different issue, one I will share at another time. The brief story: she was stranded there. She and her cousins were suppose to fly here on the 11th. The airlines would not let the cousins fly the last flight of the night. So we ended up having to cancel everything. She was then stuck there until my brother came home from Italy. She loved taking care of her cousins, but was thrilled to be home. Erin's U19 soccer team won in the Jarosi Tournament. That was exciting. She heads to soccer camp on Sunday. She is thrilled and can't wait.

Well, hello again! I have been off for so long. Time is flying by. I seem to be swamped with things to do and I have so much to say that I just haven't taken time. Today is no different. I go to pick Sam up in 45 minutes. He is at Summer Gym. But after I pick him up, I am taking him to the airport so that he can fly to Poland. I can't believe today is the day. Please pray for him and for the family who has been so gracious as to include Sam. They fly out of Chicago at 10:30 this evening and will arrive in Poland at 4:00am our time. My heart aches to know he will be gone for a month. It aches not for him, but for me. I will miss my boy! But I am so excited for him! I can not begin to explain how excited I truly am. I pray God will do mighty things in Poland... both for those who live there and for Sam and his new "family for a month".

Here is a picture of our celebrating Sam's last night with us before flying off. We had promised him a drive in movie, but Elizabeth had a fever and had another seizure in the morning. With that in mind, we did not want to go to the drive in. So...we made our own on our deck. It was very fun.

Sometimes I look into the eyes of one of my kids and am blown away at the awesome responsibility that God has given us and the realization that these children are so absolutely precious. I am in awe that God has blessed us with these 6 incredible gifts. Then, quickly, I am ashamed at all my grumbling at times! If I could only remember that my babies are entrusted to us by the All-Mighty Creator of Heaven and Earth. If I could remember that He chose to bless us with them... If I could remember that they are created in His image.. If I could only remember how truly priceless they are.... every moment of the day! If I could only remmeber these simple truths, I might have a joyful attitude every moment of every day.

It seems that God has reminded me a great deal lately of the brevity of life. When Maria Chapman, 5 years old, was taken home to be with the Lord and then on Wednesday evening Erin found out that a young man in her class was killed in a car accident. I was taken aback, again. I began to imagine the pain of losing one of my children in a car accident (or any other way). I just can't go there. I have to stop almost as soon as I begin imagining it. If I don't, then my fears my take over. It's then that I try to remind myself that God has already appointed a day in which He will take them home. I have to rest in His arms and trust Him. God did not give us a spirit of fear... but oh how easily it can come upon us! I can't imagine a more deeper pain then losing a child. Please continue to pray for the Chapman family and for her brother. The pain that he must be feeling is unimaginable. And please pray for the Richert family as they deal with the loss of their son.


Emily is on her own now. My brother and his wife headed on their journey. Emily is loving every moment of her adventure. My neice and nephew are being perfect little angels for her. I am excited for her to have this opportunity. Please pray for her protection, though. She is on her own, watching a 10 & 8 year old, driving my brothers car, in a town she is unfamiliar with, in a home all alone... and then flying home with both of the kids... by herself. She is mature, strong, independent, and able to take care of kids in an amazing way.... but she is still only 17 years old. That is a lot of responsibility.



Here she is with my nephew and 2 nieces. Eli is 10, Faith is 8 and Stephanie is 21.

A very precious friend of mine sent me these photos. I am so grateful! Emily has my memory card in Florida, so I having photo withdrawal!
This was a precious moment for Sam's team. They had played for 5 years together and never played in a championship team. They had become defeated both with their spirits and their records. Many had lost their love for the game. But, last fall, they got a new coach and developed some new attitudes. The coach worked them hard, broke many bad habits, encouraged them and taught them to play hard. He took a team that couldn't win to a team that went into the championship games undefeated. They lost in the championship game... but to us they were pure champions!
This amazed all of us!
We've always said that Elizabeth has incredible balance.... maybe she'll be the Jiang Yuyuan!
This is Jiang Yuyuan. She captured the all-around title at the Chinese National Championships in Tianjin this year. What do you think - does Elizabeth have the same grace? :)


I guess this is what I look like when I carry one of the little ones in my ergo. Often, I carry one on my back with the carrier and one in my front with my arms. It is quite a site!
I just loved this shot of Ri. He looks so innocent and sweet.


Well, the kids are out of school and we are all celebrating. Emily is now officially a Senior. I can't believe how time has flown. We are trying to focus on her future and what God has planned for her in the way of college. We are really praying for His will and our willing to accept whatever that might be. We will also be busy planning Senior pictures. Luckily, she has a photographer willing to do just about anything and work completely around our schedule :). The photographer is willing to do it for nothing. Guess this photographer must really love her :).

Erin is officially a junior. She is busy preparing for the upcoming soccer season. I really see her focusing in on some of her goals for her future. She is attending an elite soccer camp in a few weeks. It is something she has dreamed of for years. She has been saving every penny she has made so that she could pay for the entire camp. We are very proud of her efforts and her focus. It was hard to let go of that much money, but she did it. Mark and I gave her an early 16th birthday gift. She has had her eyes on some very nice cleats. We would NEVER buy the cleats she wanted. She was willing to pay for them, but she used all her money on the camp. So we decided that these cleats would make a wonderful special 16th birthday. We hated to give them to her early, but she needs to break them in. During the last week of school, we found out that she was elected as class secretary and elected to student council. She was thrilled. Her goal upon graduating is to be in one of the military branches. We are not sure which one, though. She is praying for direction. I am praying for faith!

Sam is officially a freshman. Wow - my baby is growing up! He is a couple inches taller then me now. THat one has been hard to swallow. He is taking summer gym just so that he can have a study hall in the fall when he is on the soccer team and in the marching band. It will be a very, very busy beginning to High School. He starts summer gym tomorrow. Both he and Erin will be riding their bikes into town. It is a 10 mile ride. Erin will drop him off and ride another 3 miles. She will rest there until Sam is done and then ride back to get him and then they will both ride home. It serves 2 purposes. It will get them in great shape for soccer and it saves gas! Sam leaves for Poland in 2 weeks and 2 days. He is getting very excited. God has been so faithful! His ticket cost $1295.92. He recently was given an incredibly generous gift by his Aunt. That made the amount he raised come to $1272.... then I just found $16.00 that I hadn't recorded for Sam and he earned $5.00 for babysitting. THat took him to $1293.00. His ticket is completely paid off! And.. we are planning to have a garage sale to help give him spending money while he is there.

Jacob is now in 7th grade (though he will be in 9th grade algebra). His summer has started out rather rocky with his arm being broken. We had a few tough days to begin with when he was faced with not being able to play in his final tournament for soccer. He also chose to not go to Florida because he figured there was no reason. He couldn't swim in the ocean, play in the sand, or swim at my brother's house. He figured he would just be miserable watching everyone else and not being able to join in . He realized he couldn't go to the waterpark in our home town, play in the creek, swim in Mamaw's pond, or play in the rain. He struggles with showers (his favorite time of the morning), struggles riding a bike, can't climb a tree.... and the list goes on. BUT.... God is so faithful. Jacob dressed for his tournament games and sat the bench as he watched his team play. He missed 3 games. He had a good attitude and handled things as best he could. He cheered them all on. On Sunday, they made the championship game, but only had 10 players (11 take the field). One of the coaches mentioned to us that he thought Jacob could play if they bubble wrapped his arm. Sure enough, he could! So we quickly found bubble wrap, tape, socks, and cleats (it is amazing what you can find at a tournament!). He got to play it the championship game. And guess what? He scored the teams only goal! He played defense all year. For that game, because he had the "freshest legs", the coached put him at midfield. He scored his first goal ever!It was so exciting! Unfortunately, they lost the game. But God gave him a gift by letting him play. And then yesterday, we drove to Mansfield and bought a waterproof/watertight cast cover. It is amazing. He can actually go swimming! So, his summer has made a turn for the better. We thank God for that gift!

As for Elizabeth and Ri, they are doing well. They were troopers during the last 2 weekends of soccer tournaments. They truly have been dragged everywhere.